The purpose of deriving a standard deviation of a distribution is
A) to average all the scores in a distribution.
B) to determine the central value of the scores in a distribution.
C) to determine the dispersion of scores around the mean of a distribution.
D) to determine the range of scores in each of the quartiles of a distribution.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The purpose of deriving a standard deviation is to determine the dispersion of scores around the mean of a distribution. The standard deviation is a measure of how much the scores vary from the mean in a given distribution. It provides important information about the spread of the data and is often used in inferential statistics to test hypotheses and make predictions about the population. A and B are incorrect because the standard deviation is not used to simply average or determine the central value of scores. D is incorrect because the range of scores in each quartile is better represented by other measures such as the interquartile range.

The Purpose of Deriving a Standard Deviation of a Distribution